Chapter 36: Glimpses of the Past and a Late-Night Intruder

Following Auren’s sudden decision to make a little gamble, he and Neffi fall into a rhythm.They spend most of their time training. After just a few days, Neffi decides to register as a fighter. Perhaps due to her injuries, she is only allowed to start on the 30th floor, skipping just a single step in the process—barely receiving better treatment than the average fighter at Heaven’s Arena.

Auren finally receives his second fight notification, informing him that his next match is scheduled for the very next day against a fighter named Atten.

Deciding not to risk anything, Auren dives into research on his opponent’s previous fights. Atten appears to be an archer with a decent 4-1 record. He carries a special-looking black bow, along with a quiver full of arrows. However, more notably, he can fire a white arrow made of pure Nen. He’s tall, seemingly around 30 years old, and has an athletic build. Oddly enough, he wears a dark suit and a cap, which obscure most of his appearance.

The bow is either real or conjured, but those white arrows… they’re emitted. Interesting. But what’s more important—this guy isn’t crippled. He’s a real Nen-user. He came here to win. Not like my last opponent, who just stumbled into this place and got initiated.

What makes Atten dangerous is the behavior of the white arrows—they home in on his target, bending mid-air, stopping only once they hit. Curiously, he never fires more than one white arrow at a time, only creating a new one after the previous vanishes upon impact. Alongside these, he still shoots regular arrows drawn from his quiver.

The white arrow follows its target… He’s either a Manipulator or an Emitter—combining both affinities. But this ability looks a little too strong. There must be a condition involved! Just shooting homing arrows is not fair at all—they don’t look like you can shake them off either. They either hit you or get blocked by Aura. There has to be a trick! I need to be cautious. If it comes down to it, I’ll have to destroy the arrow by force. Maybe I should use Eternity for this fight. The normal arrows are shrouded in Aura, so he can at least use Shu. This guy isn’t weak. Let’s look at his one loss.

He watches Atten’s fourth fight—his only recorded defeat. The opponent uses throwing knives and moves quickly. For some reason, Atten doesn’t use the white homing arrow and ends up losing, albeit only by points, after getting a couple of times by his opponents' knives.

Why? He didn’t use his technique, but he has already revealed it before. Why does he hold back? I need to compare…

Hours pass, and Auren’s face tightens in frustration. He looks visibly frustrated.

I couldn’t find a thing… I’ll just have to do my best tomorrow. Not exactly the best condition to walk into a fight.

While he’s still studying, a voice interrupts him.

“…What are you doing?” Neffi asks, standing in front of him, her tone curious.

“My enemy. I can’t figure out his Nen ability,” Auren answers briefly.

Neffi silently sits beside him and begins rewatching the same videos he’s been analyzing for days.

Eventually, she speaks. “Don’t you think it’s strange where the white arrows are aiming?”

Auren replays the footage, focusing more carefully.

“Left shoulder, chest, head… and here, it goes for the right hand? I don’t get it,” he admits.

“Look at this video. Before the fight—they shook hands,” Neffi points out, her eyes sharp, and focused.

Then, with a slightly smug expression, she explains, “He probably needs to touch his target. That’s the condition. He didn’t shake hands with everyone, but the ones he used his white arrow against—he must’ve touched them beforehand. Look here, during his loss—he tries to make contact just before the fight, but the opponent steps back and refuses.”

Two things—she’s smart… and her whole demeanor is different now.

“Good job! Thanks for helping me out—you’re probably right. I’ll stay in my room all day today, and tomorrow I’ll only leave minutes before the fight. That way, he won’t get the chance to touch me. You’re pretty smart—keep helping me, alright?”

“Okay!” she replies, brightening, before her expression dims again and she retreats into silence.

Auren continues training, receiving more instruction from Neffi, and then moves on to practicing his dagger skills.

Many hours later, just before midnight, someone knocks on the door. Neffi is already asleep.

Konrad?

He peers through the spyhole and sees a large food cart in front of the door—but no one in sight. On top of the cart sits a huge bouquet, a large cake, and various expensive electronics.

With a quick use of En, Auren steps back immediately.

Someone’s hiding… right next to the door.

This motherfucker…

He decides to ignore it completely.

Switching to Zetsu, he chooses not to sleep—settling into quiet meditation instead.

Thirty minutes later, there’s a sound at the door.

Auren’s eyes darken.

He conjures Eternity, holding his deadly-looking, black Katana in a tight grip, standing directly in front of the door, ready to strike.

A few seconds later, the door slowly creaks open. The lock isn’t broken—just expertly picked.

Auren reacts instantly, activating Ren and channeling Limitless Waters to envelop Eternity in as much Aura as he can using Shu.

Then, he strikes—mercilessly. It’s a move he’s practiced a thousand times. The entire sequence takes less than a second.

The man behind the door has no time to react. Auren feels his blade, its range now twice as long, thanks to Limitless Waters surrounding it, slicing cleanly—not only through the door, but also through the man opening it.

As the remnants of the door collapse, Auren looks down at the result of his attack.

His opponent is now in two pieces. Dead.

The door is destroyed, more than half of it gone.

Auren sighs. He calmly steps back inside and calls reception.

“My enemy in the 200th class tried to trick me into opening my door, and then forcefully broke in. I killed him in self-defense. Send someone to fix this fucking door—right now. Also, pick up his body and clean the floor. Room Number 2253!”

“Of course… I am sorry for the disturbance?” The man on the phone replies, sounding baffled, like someone just woken up from a nightmare.

A few minutes later, multiple staff members arrive along with a man in an expensive-looking suit.

“Sorry to disturb you this late, Mr. Auren,” the suited man says. “I am one of the managers of Heaven’s Arena. I’ve reviewed the security footage and confirmed your account of the events. We will report his crime to the authorities, and, with your permission, we will collect the corpse. As the one who stopped him, you are entitled to compensation. If you have a lawyer, he can contact us, and we’ll aid you in suing your assailant's estate.”

“That’s fine… no need for that,” Auren replies.

“If you permit, we’ll install a new door immediately. It will only take a few minutes,” the manager adds, nodding to two workers rushing down the hall with a new door in hand.

“Sure… thank you for cleaning this up so quickly.”

The manager bows politely. “No problem at all. Thank you for your understanding.”

Ten minutes later, Auren sits on the floor, using Ten to calm down.

Like nothing happened…

The next day, Auren enters the Arena and is instantly declared the winner. The moderator acts like nothing unusual has happened and wonders about his opponent's mysterious absence.

A message from Konrad arrives, informing him of another 30 million Jenny earned through betting. The news makes Auren smile.

He wastes no time and signs up for more fights.

Time passes in Heaven’s Arena. Auren makes steady, visible progress. He trains his body at Heaven’s Arena’s gym, continues receiving knife instruction from Neffi, and gradually improves his Aura control and Nen skills. His En now reaches as far as 19.5 meters.

Neffi also improves. Her body is seemingly recovered, though she still walks with a limp—her left foot unable to function properly. Scars still cover her entire body, including her face. During knife training, Auren notices that her right hand moves awkwardly—her fingers unable to fully grip the knife she’s holding. Despite that handicap, they’ve moved past basic form drills and now spar using cheap knives and wooden daggers Auren ordered specifically for practice.

Exactly 28 days pass since the bet.

Neffi is standing on the Arena of the 190th floor—just one victory away from reaching her goal. She is wearing a set of black clothing that she bought with her earnings from reaching this floor. She has fought nearly every day and shown remarkable growth, only losing three times.

Auren, meanwhile, has won three more matches—but none of his opponents actually showed up, something he finds mildly disappointing. His record now stands at an impeccable 5-0.

Finally, he attends Neffi’s climactic fight in person. For more chapters visıt N0veI.Fiɾe.net

He sees her in the brightly lit Arena, facing a towering, monstrously muscular opponent—easily over two and a half meters tall.

As the referee outlines the rules, the giant activates Ren. His already massive muscles swell further, looking absurdly inhuman. Even professional bodybuilders would look like children in comparison.

Auren narrows his focus, channeling Aura into his throat and shouting, “You can use it!”

Neffi glances up in surprise, sees him, and nods.

“Get ready… FIGHT!” the referee announces.

Neffi smiles—and activates Ren.

Auren is surprised. Using Gyo, he carefully inspects Neffi. Her Aura is smooth, powerful—almost matching his own in raw output, as far as he can tell. Her opponent, on the other hand, has an unstable, weak Aura. His muscle growth is intense, but the surrounding Aura is pitiful. It barely has the thickness of Ten, not even close to a real use of Ren.

She should win this.

“Hehe, I’ll crush you, little girl!” the giant bellows, charging forward, arms outstretched.

Neffi smiles, and Auren watches with interest.

She’s going to do something very dea—

Before Auren can finish his thought, Neffi launches herself forward with a powerful leap—relying solely on her right foot. She instantly focuses her entire Aura into her left hand using Ko, drives it straight into the giant’s throat, fully piercing through it.

The force is brutal. The giant is blown backwards. Neffi retracts her hand cleanly and lands carefully on her right foot. Blood sprays out of the Giant’s Neck the moment Neffi removes her hand, and before he can scream, his eyes spin and he loses consciousness.

The body is now lying lifelessly on the ground, a puddle of blood forming around it.

“Incredible! Participant Neffi has… killed her opponent in a single attack! This match is over! Participant Neffi has made it to the 200th floor! Congratulations, girl!” the moderator cries out excitedly. “She may hide her body under all-black clothing, but her skill shines through like a bright light! I’m excited to see how she’ll fare in the 200th class!”

She did it… I can see glimpses of her real personality. That weak, shy, sad demeanor—that’s not her true self. It’s just her current shell. I can almost picture who she used to be, before it all happened. What do I… do now?